Sara Gordon

Sara Gordon is an Associate Professor at the Allard School of Law. Her work examines how legal decision-making is shaped—not just by laws and evidence—but by the assumptions, conventional wisdom, and cognitive biases of the people making those decisions. Professor Gordon is particularly interested in how judges and lawyers often rely on outdated or unsupported ideas about mental health and human behavior, even as medical and psychological research continues to evolve. Her work investigates how legal institutions often lag behind advancements in medical and psychological research and how this disconnect can lead to real consequences for people involved the criminal justice system.

Her research is aimed at educating legal professionals to better understand the science behind human behavior and mental health and improve decision-making in courts and other legal settings. 

At Allard, Professor Gordon teaches Criminal Law, Evidence Law, Mental Health Law, and a seminar in Law and Psychology.

Research and Publications

 To learn more about my research, please visit my PURE Research profile. You can also access my works on the following sites: 

• Allard Research Commons / bepress Legal Repository Search
• SSRN (Social Science Research Network)
• HeinOnline

Criminal Law, Evidence, Law and Psychology, Mental Health Law

• About a Revolution: Toward Integrated Treatment in Drug & Mental Health Courts, 97 North Carolina L. Rev. 355, 355-394 (2019) (excerpted in Jones et. al., Law & Neuroscience 443 (2020)).
   
• The Use and Abuse of Mutual Support Programs in Drug Courts, 2017 Illinois L. Rev. 1503, 1503-1543.
   
• Crossing the Line: Daubert, Dual Roles, and the Admissibility of Forensic Mental Health Testimony, 37 Cardozo L. Rev. 1345, 1345-1399 (2016).
   
• The Danger Zone: How a Narrow Interpretation of Gravely Disabled Statutes Harms People with Serious Mental Illness, 66 Case Western L. Rev. 657, 657-700 (2016).
   
• With Dr. Melissa Piasecki et al., Review of Alaska Mental Health Statutes (2016).
   
• All Together Now: Using Principles of Group Dynamics to Train Better Jurors, 48 Indiana L. Rev. 415, 415-459 (2015)
   
• What Jurors Want to Know: Motivating Juror Cognition to Increase Comprehension & Improve Decision-Making, 81 Tennessee L. Rev. 751, 751-793 (2014).
   
• Through the Eyes of Jurors: The Use of Schemas in the Application of “Plain Language” Jury Instructions, 64 Hastings L. J. 643, 643-677 (2013).

Publications listed on the Allard Research Portal.